The Tearoom

Author: ​Gretchen Haley
Publisher: Penguin
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
 Such a delightful book! Easy to read and sprinkled with spicy titbits that bring Indian cuisine right into your home. The delicacies of a KwaZulu-Natal community whose favourite eating place is The Tearoom run by the long suffering  but proud proprietor Tubby Reddy are tantalizingly revealed as one would add the ingredients to a slow cooking pot.  Gretchen Haley’s  novel ‘The Tearoom’ is a warming romp that will have you longing for light-as-air rotis and spicy samosas as you 

turn the pages.
Meet Tubby Reddy. Strange name for an Indian but then he IS tubby and with a name like Thirapatheegadu getting your tongue around that is almost like eating a hot chilli, so more than appropriate.  His life is ordered – The Tearoom is popular, his staff are reliable and his clientele loyal. But his heart is not with his hypochondriac, histrionic wife Lynette, no, it has been taken by kitchen assistant Yogi, but until now she knows nothing of this. As the countdown to his fiftieth birthday begins Tubby is determined that his life is going to change and London and Yogi – here we come. Monitoring his life and successful business through his diary – carefully kept out of Lynette’s sight - Tubby has amassed a small fortune ready for the day when he will realise his dream. Lynette seems to have taken a serious shine to the new and energetic preacher, his daughter Nell is mysteriously disappearing into the night and son Benji has plans of his own.  So it seems the stage is set. Tubby’s affection and love for Yogi is spurring him on, but as in all good stories ‘ the best laid plans’ have a habit of coming unstuck  as reality deals him a low blow that could change everything.
Haley brings a colourful and warming cast to her pages. The reader will delight in the gentle Tubby, urging him on, sharing his disappointments. The aromas of the Tearoom follow you as the story gains momentum and the comedic moments will have you giggling. It is of course a tragi – comedy as colourful as the characters and instantly recognisable.  Haley skilfully writes of issues prevalent in any South African community but brings pathos and empathy into her portrayal. Cross cultural dynamics, simmering sentiments of staff, clientele and family are all well rounded out and she skilfully brings the tale to a close with a satisfying outcome. Just like a good meal, The Tearoom, has a way of lingering.  ​